US Supreme Court is expected to begin hearing oral argument A closely watched case could have results today at 10 a.m. ET TikTok is being banned in the United States on January 20, a day before President-elect Donald Trump was sworn into office. WIRED reporters Makenna Kelly, Zeyi Yang and Louise Matsakis are tuning in live and will bring you the most important updates from the courtroom and our analysis.
Congress last year passed a law This would force TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the app or face a ban in the US. US Justice Department lawyers plan to make the case that the measures are necessary to reduce national security risk Offered by App. TikTok will debate the law suppresses free speech Out of approximately 170 million Americans.
Here are some of the most important questions we're thinking about: How will the judge interpret Trump's unusual request last month to delay the deadline in the case until he is in power? Will the court be convinced by the DOJ's arguments about how China could potentially manipulate TikTok's algorithm To shape public opinion? How will the justices consider constitutional issues related to a social media platform that extends far beyond America's borders?
Also, will the questions asked by the judges provide any clues about how they might ultimately rule in the case? We're paying particular attention to Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who opined in the case previous case Foreign social media platforms are not entitled to the same First Amendment protections as American companies. If she raises the same issue again, it could signal that TikTok will lose its usually relatively moderate vote on matters involving free speech issues.